·Photography
was brought to the attention of the general public when it was included in
the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.

·Over
the next decade, several photographic societies were founded including The
Photographic Society (now RPS) in 1853 and the Photographic Society of
Scotland (PSS) in 1856.

·PSS
was founded under the patronage of Prince Albert. Sir David Brewster was
President. PSS held its first exhibition in December 1856 when the society
was only 9 months old. There were 1,050 prints and 8,000 visitors. The
exhibition included entries from:

"Another Exhibition has opened to delight our pleasure-loving Auld
Reekieites who are noted as dillettántí and Fine-Art rhapsodists.
Photography already appears scarcely less marvellous than the electric
telegraph”Caledonian Mercury: 22 Dec 1856

·There
was still a novelty in viewing photos when the first PSS Exhibition was
held. The Courant published a poem about this exhibition, describing
the photos as paintings made by the sun, 'Old Sol'. Here is the
final verse of the poem:

"Old Sol had scarcely spoken thus, when forth I went
straightway

To his Great Exhibition-Room, my shilling there to
pay.

And scarcely had I passed the door, and laid my money down

When I exclaimed 'A
shilling's worth! Why this is worth a crown.

He really is a painter! His own account is true.

I only wish we saw him here far oft'ner than we do'."The Courant, 22
Jan1857

Please click on No. 1 below to read the
whole of this Poem, or No. 2 to read a reply, published nine days later in The
Daily Scotsman.

Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6 below all are poems about
EPS Exhibitions that have appeared, over the years, in EPS Bulletins. No.
3 was written in 1988 when EPS received a record number of entries for its
exhibition - 3994 !

·Following
a dispute over PSS’ refusal to accept the print ‘Two Ways of Life’
from OG Rejlander in the 1857 Exhibition, several PSS Members resigned from
the society and began to meet privately. They went on to found Edinburgh
Photographic Society in 1861.

2.

Founding of EPS

·EPS
was founded on 20 February 1861. (President, James D Marwick, Secretary, J
Traill Taylor, who become Editor of British Journal of Photography for most
of the time from 1864 until his death in 1895).

·From
the outset, EPS included a mix of professional and amateur photographers, or
as George H Slight told EPS Members in 1867:

“In a
good working society, there should be a thorough admixture of different
classes of the community among the members, such as professionals, working
amateurs of all ranks, and others calling themselves amateurs who may have
only a general hankering after photographic pursuits.’

He said this last class was not to be
despised. He referred to them as ‘ornamental members, useful from their
position and influence in giving a certain status to a society, and in
assisting to augment the funds’.

·Professional
Photographers, as well as amateurs, continued to play an active part in the
life of EPS throughout the 19th century, several of the most prominent ones
going on to become President of EPS. All the city’s professional
photographers closed their premises and declared the day an Official Holiday
on the occasion of the EPS Annual Picnic!

3.

Early Exhibitions

·EPS
held its first exhibition in 1861. The society was only six weeks old. But
the society attracted over 700 entries to the exhibition including work from
Bedford, Bisson, Fenton, Herries, Mudd, Ramage, Roger, Horatio Ross, Silvy
and Tunny.

·The
exhibition was described as having choice specimens of photographic skill,
with stereoscopes, binocular picture &c. spread over the table in great
abundance.

·In
1873 or ‘74, William Henry Fox Talbot was awarded a Silver Medal for three
specimens of Photoglyphic Engravings.

- Best picture,
half-plate size and under, other than figure or genre composition.

- Best figure or
genre composition.

- Best picture above
half-plate size, other than figure or genre composition.

- Best set of 4 or 5
pictures, being work done with camera held in hand.

- Best picture, being
the work of a lady member.

- Best enlargement.

- Best set of six
lantern slides

- Best set of three
pictures taken at the 1896 Saturday Rambles.

·Exhibition
Classes and Awards varied from year to year, the subject involving some
protracted discussions at EPS Council Meetings. Eventually, it was decided
in 1902 to award only Bronze Medals. A new rectangular ‘Art Nouveau’ style
of medal was adopted, replacing the earlier large round medals.

·The
EPS Exhibition has a reputation
amongst photographers for being a difficult exhibition in which to gain
acceptance. Most International Exhibitions accept about 25% of prints
submitted. Historically, the EPS Exhibition has accepted a much
smaller percentage.

·For
the 2012 Exhibition, 2,566 prints were submitted from 39 countries.
From these, 202 were selected to be shown at the exhibition

·Each
year since 1953, the EPS Exhibition Catalogue has given a list of: